Virtually, everyone knows the phrase: “Actions speak louder than…words.” The basic idea behind this clause is that actions speak louder than words as a determinant of behavior and character. People can say anything, but when what they say is contrary to what they do, it is easier to judge what they believe by what is done, rather than what is said. Our lives should be, louder than words. The key is to live out loud! The real, organic gospel is not about correct theological dialogue, but about the kingdom of God erupting in our lives. It’s about getting what we say we believe to manifest. It is living out loud!
The life of the Gospel was made to be extraordinary. Extraordinary living surpasses the norm. It breaks away from the status quo. It is a life that is exceptional, remarkable, amazing, unimaginable…well, abundant. Isn’t this what the world discovered about the early Christian believers? This is the revelation of the Book of Acts. Acts 4:12 records it like this, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which they must be saved. When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized they were unschooled and ordinary men, they were astonished and took note that they had been with Jesus. But since they could see the man healed standing with them, there was nothing they could say.” They were living out loud and everybody noticed!
In other words they were ordinary people doing extraordinary things. This is the theme of the Book of Acts. In fact, three times the disciples were accused of being gods (Acts 10:25-26; 14:11-15; 28:6). Once they were accused of turning the world upside down (17:6). The question is, is that the problem we are having in the church today? Maybe it’s out of context in our culture to say such things, but when is the last time someone inquired to get what you’ve got? These early disciples lived out loud and people noticed. They saw an ability that made them distinctive, uncommon.
What is the ability that brought the extraordinary to the ordinary? Certainly the Book of Acts is about the person and power of the Holy Spirit, but there is also an amazing missing ingredient. Following this extraordinary event in Acts 4 is this amazing verse, “With great power the apostles continued to testify…and much grace was upon them.” Eleven times in Acts, following extraordinary events it testifies as to the source being “much grace” (4:33; 6:8; 11:23; 13:43; 14:31; 14:26; 15:11; 15:40; 18:27; 20:24; 20:32). Notice Acts 6:8 for example, “Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.” Acts 14:8 continued this thought, “Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there (Iconium) speaking boldly for the Lord who confirmed the message of His grace, by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders.”
God is revealing a hidden secret to the church for impact today: grace. Grace is unmerited favor. God did something for you, you can never earn (see Ephesians 1:3 for the full impact). Now, that just tells me it’s free. Secondly, it is the finished work of Jesus Christ (John 19:30; Ephesians 1:3; 2 Peter 1:2,3). Thirdly, it is a Divine influence upon the heart. Lastly, it is God’s ability or empowerment. Grace is the ability to live the Christian life and to manifest His kingdom. I like to say it like this: Grace is my ability to use God’s ability to meet any need. This is the hour for the ordinary to do the extraordinary. Grace in fullness is the heart of His Gospel (Galatians 1:6-8; Acts 20:24).
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